The Meeting
by pamela1967
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy is seriously considering his future.  Now he needs to see if his ambition is possible.   NO SLASH!


Scorpius Malfoy needs some advice. I don't own Harry Potter (unfortunately!)

THE MEETING

Scorpius stood up amongst the green flames and stepped out of the huge fireplace. It was one of several fireplaces along the wall were wizards and witches were all bustling through. He stood aside quickly so that he wouldn't be in the way of the next person using the floo network in order to come to the Ministry of Magic. Scorpius looked around in wonder. He had vague memories of his father and grandfather bringing him here when he was small but it had been years. The atrium still seemed so huge to him!

His father had offered to bring him to the ministry but now he was fifteen years old and quite capable of handing this on his own! Besides, given who he was planning on seeing, he wasn't too sure it was a good idea to bring either his dad or grandfather. It wasn't that he didn't love his family or that he wasn't proud of them and how they turned their lives around after the war, but he understood recent history all too well. Both his father and grandfather were former Death Eaters. There were a number of reasons they weren't in Azkaban right now. One of which was their full disclosure of their crimes during the trials that were held shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts. All three Malfoys stood before the Wizengamot and testified telling the wizarding world everything they knew of Voldemort's plans. Harry Potter had, incredibly, also stood up and testified. His words were enlightening to the packed courtroom. He spoke of the psychological torture that Voldemort put the Malfoy family through and how Draco had been 'chosen' to murder Albus Dumbledore with the full knowledge that, should he fail, Draco's family would pay the price. He also pleaded the court on behalf of Narcissa Malfoy who told Voldemort that Harry was dead, lying to him in order to get back to Hogwarts castle to find her son. Harry had asked the court if they knew _anyone _besides Severus Snape who was able to successfully lie to Voldemort. This had sufficiently impressed the court. His grandfather, Lucius, had been sentenced to 10 years (and was quite grateful it wasn't a life sentence) and Draco and Narcissa had been released. Life changed quite drastically for them. Their stately manor house had been sold and mother and son moved to more modest dwellings. Life hadn't been easy for them but it moved forward, nonetheless. Draco had married Scorpius' mother, Astoria and now Scorpius was in Hogwarts, seriously considering his future.

His parent's stories of the war years had had a profound effect on Scorpius. His father had told him frankly about the mistake it had been to follow Voldemort. Draco still didn't believe that Muggles and Muggleborn wizards and witches were as good as purebloods, but the war had taught him some hard lessons. When he married, he knew that his wife, despite her pureblood status, didn't have the same prejudices Draco had. Draco had allowed Scorpius to make up his own mind about Muggleborns when he went to Hogwarts. Still unsure about the Mudbloods (as some called them), Scorpius did his best to avoid the subject altogether. He had a circle of friends which were mostly purebloods and halfbloods but also found he could be on quite good terms with Muggle-borns as well.

Now as he walked through the atrium, he thought about his reason for being at the ministry today and wondered if it was a good idea to try to see him. After all, he was the Head of the Auror Department. A very busy man! A very important man! Scorpius hadn't made an appointment so he couldn't even be sure that the man was there!

He went through the security desk and had his wand checked on the brass scale. Then he asked where visitors went in order to secure a visit with a ministry worker without an appointment. He had been led to a waiting room off to the left where he found a pretty witch sitting behind a desk with a stack of pale violet parchments sitting next to her. "Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"I was hoping that I could see Mr. Harry Potter in the Auror Department, please."

The pretty witch's left eyebrow shot straight into her hairline. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked, a skeptical note in her voice.

_Obviously not, _thought Scorpius, but he knew better than to voice this out loud. So he said as courteously as possible, "No, I'm sorry, I don't. I was hoping Mr. Potter would have some time in his schedule to see me today. I only need about 10 minutes or so."

The witch took a piece of parchment next to her and quickly wrote Harry Potter's name in the 'TO' space and then wrote that a young gentlemen would like to have approximately 10 minutes of his time. "And your name sir?" she asked.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he replied. To her credit, she didn't bat an eyelash as she wrote the name. She tapped the parchment with her wand and it folded itself instantly into a paper airplane and shot out a small opening in the wall near the ceiling.

"It might be a while before there's an answer. So if you'd like to take a seat." And she indicated a long row of hard wooden chairs along the opposite wall about one quarter of which were occupied with uncomfortable looking people. Scorpius sat and picked up a copy of the previous day's _Daily Prophet_ and began to read. Within minutes, his backside was quite numb from the hard, wooden seat.

Fortunately, he only needed to endure about 20 minutes of this before he noticed a parchment fly back in through the hole near the ceiling and land softly on the witch's desk. She opened it and read aloud, "Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Yes, ma'am?" he said, getting up and tossing the paper in the seat he had just vacated.

"You may go up now. Just out those doors to the elevators on the left. Level two."

Thanking her, he strode purposefully out the door to the elevator, hoping desperately that he didn't look as nervous as he suddenly felt. The elevator seemed to take a very long time to go from the atrium to Level 2 as it was still quite early and many witches and wizards were heading to their offices. The elevator was filled to capacity and people were getting on and off at each floor. Finally at level 2, Scorpius extracted himself with difficulty and stepped out. A tall man with deep blue eyes was there to meet him. "Mr. Malfoy?" At Scorpius' nod, he said "Follow me, please," and strode off purposefully down the hall. Passing the sign indicating _Auror Headquarters, _he then walked through the room to the office in the corner of the room and knocked on the door that was already slightly ajar. "Mr. Malfoy for you, sir."

As Scorpius approached, Harry Potter stood up from behind a handsome walnut desk and leaned forward with an outstreached hand, "Scorpius, come in." Harry shook his hand warmly and indicated that he should sit in the visitor's chair. "Now what can I do for you today?"

Without thinking, he replied flippantly, "You could get chairs as comfortable as this in your waiting room!" Then he winced at his own stupid remark. But Harry laughed.

"Yeah, they are horrible, aren't they? I think they're that way on purpose to deter people from coming to the ministry without an appointment." Scorpius laughed and some of his nervousness lightened.

"But you didn't come to discuss chairs." Harry was smiling at him as he leaned back in his own handsome looking chair.

"No sir." Scorpius had to swallow suddenly as his nerves kicked into high gear. "You see sir," Another swallow. "I will be heading into my fifth year at Hogwarts this September..."

"Yes, you and my son Albus," Harry said.

"Yes, and I know that this year we're supposed to get career advice from our heads of houses. I've been discussing this with my parents to see if they would approve of my career choice. We've been talking about it for quite a while." At Harry's questioning look, he added, "Years, really. And my father thought it might be a good idea to speak to you about it before…" He broke off and regrouped his sentences. He was quite aware of Harry's green eyes gazing steadily at him. "I mean, if you didn't approve, I would have some time to think of something different…"

He trailed off as Harry leaned forward in his chair and rested both elbows on his desk. "I'm not sure I follow you. Why would you need my approval?"

Scorpius knew that Harry Potter was perfectly aware of why he wanted his approval but wanted to hear it from Scorpius himself. "Because sir, I want to be an Auror."

"A worthy ambition, I can assure you," Harry said with a smile.

"And," _gulp!_ "And, sir, I really need to know if," another gulp. "If you would consider hiring a Malfoy to work with you."

Harry leaned back again and gave Scorpius a penetrating look. "Well, I'm assuming that we're talking about a certain Malfoy who is, I believe, one of the top students in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts? And is in a rather fierce, albeit friendly competition with my son to get the highest grade in that class?" Scorpius could feel his face turning pink.

Harry tried not to chuckle at young Mr. Malfoy's discomfort. He got up from his desk and crossed over to a file cabinet where some small leaflets were neatly stacked on top. Grabbing one, he walked back to his seat and got comfortable again. He handed the leaflet to Scorpius and continued. "You'll need top grades in Defense Against the Dark Arts of course. Transfiguration, Potions and Charms are a must for any Auror and I'd also recommend continuing with Herbology. You must get an E grade on at least five N.E.W.T.'s to be considered for Auror training. And be aware the Auror training itself is another three years."

Scorpius realized at this point that his mouth was hanging open. He snapped it shut so hard his teeth hurt. Was he saying…?

"You mean? You'd really…?" he stammered. Stopping to collect himself, he blurted out "You'd hire me? You'd really hire… _me_?"

"Is there a reason to_ not_ hire you?" Harry asked in a gentle tone.

"Well, my dad and my grandpa…" Scorpius didn't want to finish the sentence.

"Are NOT you." Harry said firmly. "I've just told you the requirements the ministry has for new Aurors in training. There is no rules that I'm aware of that says certain people cannot become Aurors. Not because of their names or their family's history."

Relief flooded Scorpius and Harry allowed him a few moments to collect himself. He remembered quite vividly what it was like to be 15 years old. He couldn't imagine that it was easy for Scorpius to come to him today and voice this ambition and wondered what Draco thought about it. Harry, however, decided that he wasn't going to satisfy his own curiosity by asking Scorpius about his family.

"There is something you should realize, Scorpius" said Harry. As the boy sat up straight and focused back on Harry, he continued, "I insist that all my Aurors learn about Muggles. Those who are not Muggle-born and didn't take Muggle studies at Hogwarts will be getting additional studies when they enter Auror training. Auror's often have to deal with Muggles more than they realized they would and sometimes the results are, well, comical at best. But whenever the Oblivitators need to come on the scene, I end up with a mountain of paperwork. It's just easier if the Aurors know how to blend in with Muggles, understand their habits, and so forth."

"Yes sir. I admit I don't know much about Muggles and I didn't take Muggle studies at school."

Harry smiled knowingly at him. "I understand. I'm just trying to let you know that I don't tolerate bigotry in this department. Not against Muggles. Not against someone whose father… made a mistake."

Harry leaned forward again. "Scorpius, I am trying very hard to combat hundreds of years of bigotry. Not just against Muggles and Muggle-borns but wherever prejudice rears its ugly head. If I were to deny an excellent candidate for the department just based on his name, wouldn't I be guilty of bigotry myself? Now if you study hard and became that candidate, I would be happy to accept you."

A warmth spread through Scorpius, followed with excitement. An Auror! If he worked hard, he could actually be an Auror! In a daze, Scorpius stood and shook hands with Harry and listened as he explained that he had an appointment set up and that he needed time to prepare but if Scorpius had any questions, he'd be happy to take his owl. Thanking him twice for seeing him, Scorpius had a hard time not leaping with delight when he walked to the elevator.

Within minutes, he flooed himself back to his home where his parents and grandparents were waiting for him. Breathlessly, he told them what Mr. Potter had said about keeping his grades up and how he'd be happy to have a Malfoy in his department. Despite the earliness of the hour, his father got a bottle of elf made wine and poured everyone a glass. Then they toasted the new future Auror.

As Scorpius tasted his wine gingerly, he basked in the praise of his parents and grandparents and thought to himself, _Al Potter is going to have to run to keep up with me in Defense class this year!_


End file.
